Whether it was Tim Kring or Jeph Loeb or yet someone else who said it, I recall it being said that one of the things that made “Heroes” great is what was at stake. Namely, characters could die … and death was permanent. Not so much, anymore. If season three has taught us anything, it’s that only Stephen Tobolowsky (he played Bob, the Svengali with the Midas touch) is expendable.

Peter Petrelli was thrown out of a 7th story window and lived. Matt Parkman was punched through the chest and lived. Ando was stabbed through the heart by Hiro, and he lived. Nathan gets shot in the chest and dies … except he doesn’t! Surprise! It’s a miracle. One that’s reality, as yet (unless I missed it in the baroque tapestry, of course), hasn’t been revealed to us.

I’m growing weary of the show because of this gimmickry. Its brilliant first season has kept me watching but, with nearly every new episode, I find my patience — and love — waning for the show. I don’t expect for every question to be immediately answered, but I’m frustrated by the writers’ attempts to manipulate our emotions in cheap ways. After Ando was stabbed, my friend and I posited that Hiro must have faked it somehow. Sure enough. When Parkman fell to the floor after being punched through the chest, I immediately said — “Just wait; he’s not dead … I’m sure it’s just some more BS.” — and it was. When future Peter was shot by future Claire and he died, I wondered: “How did that happen; he can regenerate…” but I’m less annoyed by that knowing that Arthur Petrelli stole all of his son’s powers in the past. Time travel is funny and confusing, but I theorized that future Peter died because, while he got certain abilities by using the formula, he didn’t regain regeneration — and his power to absorb other abilities is gone. But who knows? Trying to come to a logical conclusion about something totally illogical is pointless. I’m just hoping that doesn’t become true of watching the show.

The stakes need to be raised. Either someone really does need to die, or the gimmicky, fake deaths need to stop altogether. One of the things that made Season One so enjoyable was its credibility. As impossible as everything was … it seemed plausible. With a seasoned comic book veteran like Jeph Loeb as part of what’s driving this show, I have high hopes that the end result will vindicate what’s been irking me so far. I just get the feeling that NBC knows I’m hooked, regardless of whether they please me each week … or continue to frustrate me. – Steve Soldwedel